Why Can't Things Be Simple?
by lovealwaysemily
Summary: Gracie and Dahlia were best friends. They told each other everything. So when Gracie suddenly left town, why did Dahlia have no idea why? What will happen when Dahlia transfers to Degrassi and finds a boy named Adam there?
1. We Don't Talk About Boys

Chapter One: We Never Talk About Boys

Author's Note: This chapter of the story takes place when Adam was in grade 8. In the semi-alternate-universe-land of this story, Adam wasn't out as transgender at this point, and is still really trying to figure out who he is. So, basically, he's Gracie. I'll try to make things as in-tune with the show as possible, besides that, and the new characters, Dahlia and Bridget (she'll show up in the next chapter). Enjoy!

"DREW! Seriously, please stop knocking your sister down!" Mrs. Torres called from the kitchen, where she was simultaneously on the phone, writing a memo, and watching her children's every move. "You're going to hurt her!"

"She knows I'm just playing around. Don't you, Gracie?" Drew smiled at his little sister and reached out a hand to help her up. Gracie grabbed his hand, and with one strong pull, Drew was on the living room floor right beside her.

She smiled with pride. "Just playing around." Then she grabbed her cell phone and ran out the door. "Going to Dahlia's, mom! Be back later!"

Gracie heard Drew laughing behind her as she ran out the door. She and Drew had been best friends for as long as she could remember. They got along a lot more than most girls her age got along with their older brothers. Drew was in high school now, and high school guys usually shunned their younger siblings, officially becoming too cool for them as soon as they stepped through the doors. But Drew and Gracie did everything together.

The only person Gracie loved as much as her brother (aside from her parents) was her best friend Dahlia. Gracie and Dahlia had a special kind of friendship. The kind where you don't even really need to say anything, you just look at the person and know exactly how they're feeling. That was great for Gracie. Unlike most girls she knew, talking about feelings was not Gracie's strong suit. But if she were to explain how she felt around Dahlia, she would probably have used the words "ecstatic love". Dahlia made Gracie feel like she was capable of anything.

She ran up the steps of Dahlia's apartment building and slammed her fist against the door of apartment number 33 four times. She stepped back, and the door opened to reveal the smiling face of a tall, lanky girl with curly blonde hair, dressed in all white. Dahlia always dressed in all white. Gracie never really understood that, (she was currently dressed in ripped jeans and one of Drew's old Beatles t-shirts) but she loved it. She loved everything about Dahlia.

"Hey! What do you want to do today?" Dahlia asked, looking just as happy to see Gracie as Gracie was to see her.

'Anything.' Gracie thought. "How about we go for a walk?" she said out loud.

"Sounds good!" Dahlia reached over to grab her phone and keys off a table, and they walked downstairs and outside.

They talked about everything on that walk. What they wanted to do on the weekend, what they wanted to be when they grew up, how excited they were to be going to high school in the fall, and how scared they were about that same thing...

"High school seems kind of scary in the movies..." Gracie said.

"What? No way! High school seems like fun! Parties, clubs, dances, dating. My mom says I can even start wearing makeup!" Dahlia squealed.

"How are we even friends?" Gracie joked.

Dahlia just laughed and shook her head at her tomboy best friend.

"You said dating." Gracie said. "Do you think it's weird that we never talk about boys?"

Dahlia stopped walking as the pair came up to a deserted waterfront. The summer sun was bright and hot, reflecting off of the waves of the lake, and making Dahlia's golden hair shine even more than usual. Dahlia took off her shoes and held them in one hand. She reached out for Gracie's left hand with her right. In a moment, Gracie was barefoot too, and reaching for Dahlia's hand. The girls ran straight out into the water, and splashed in right up to their knees, the iciness of it shocking them to their cores. Dahlia screamed and Gracie laughed and splashed her.

After a while of playing in the water, Gracie said "You never answered my question."

"About boys?" Dahlia asked, staring into the water around her feet. "Gracie, what do you want to talk about boys for?"

Dahlia smiled a little, but Gracie could tell she was uncomfortable. Honestly, Gracie was kind of uncomfortable too. With each passing moment in the ensuing awkward silence it was becoming clearer why neither of them wanted to talk about boys.

It dawned on Gracie that this moment could make or break her friendship with Dahlia. It could make or break her identity. But, never one to shy away from a risk, Gracie took Dahlia's hand.

Dahlia drew in a breath and looked up at Gracie.

Gracie took a step closer, unsure whether Dahlia would back away.

She didn't.

Gracie leaned in the rest of the way and gently pressed her lips to Dahlia's.

Suddenly, both of them were fully aware of what they should have known all along.

They were in love.


	2. Nothing Can Hurt Me at Degrassi

Chapter Two: Nothing Can Hurt Me at Degrassi

Author's Note: Thanks for coming back for Chapter Two! This one takes place at Degrassi, after Adam has pretty much come out as transgender. If you don't understand what happened between the Dahlia-Gracie kiss, and the beginning of this chapter, never fear! It'll all be explained, just keep reading! Enjoy! Oh, and by the way: the uniforms-and-metal-detectors thing isn't happening in this story. That storyline would take away from this one. Okay go!

As Adam walked through the doors of Degrassi Community School on his first day of Grade 10, he felt a little bit strange. Something was different about walking through the doors this year. Did he feel older? No, not really. Did he feel smarter? Nope. He tried to remember the feeling of walking through the doors last year. At first, he'd been scared because he was the new kid, and that's never fun for anybody. Then, he'd been scared that people would find out he was biologically female. Then, when they found that out, he'd been scared of the comments and bullying he had to put up with almost every single day.

This year... there was no fear. Everyone at Degrassi had pretty much gotten used to the fact that he's transgender. Even if they didn't understand it, or like it, it had ceased to be interesting to them. There were other things to talk about, like KC and Jenna's baby. For the first time in what felt to Adam like forever, he felt safe walking through the doors of Degrassi. There was nothing past those doors that could hurt him.

He walked into homeroom with a confident swagger, smiling at everyone and talking to friends he hadn't seen all summer. He got his locker assignment, and went to put his stuff away. He turned a corner and saw Eli and Clare making out against the lockers.

"Seriously, guys? School hasn't even started yet!" he laughed.

"Adam!" Clare squealed, running over to give her friend a hug. "I feel like we hardly saw each other this summer! How have you been?"

"I've been great, thanks, Clare! It looks like you have too! You have a bit of a tan!" Adam said with a laugh. He looked over at Eli, who was leaning against the lockers with his signature smirk. "Wish I could say the same for you, Mr. Goldsworthy. I see you're as ghostly as ever."

"Yeah, what can I say, the vampire look works for me." Eli said, and Clare blushed for some reason and looked at her feet. "I've missed you buddy! Meet at the Dot after school?"

"Sure! I'll meet you guys there!"

The morning bell rang, and Adam smiled as Eli and Clare held hands and walked away. He put his things in his locker, and then tried to choose what to do next. He had a spare first period, so he decided to wander around to see if anything interesting was happening. He walked around a bit, had to switch directions once to avoid Bianca and Fitz, and ended up outside the Auditorium, where he spotted Dave staring in the doorway.

"Dave! What's up, dude?"

"Shhhh!" Dave whispered, putting a finger to his lips. "I'm trying to watch hot girls dance, here, okay?"

"Oooh hot girls!" Adam whispered, leaning around the other side of the doorway to peek in.

Two tall, thin girls were on stage, dancing in tank tops and flowy skirts; one girl in all black, the other in all white. The girl in black had dark skin and long, pin-straight black hair tied back in a bun. The girl in white had fair skin and masses of blonde ringlets cascading down her back. They were too far away for him to see their faces, but he could tell they were beautiful. They moved to the music more gracefully than anyone Adam had ever seen. It was like art; Adam was mesmerized. He knew nothing about ballet, but he knew that these girls were unbelievably talented. They leapt through the air as easily as they took a step, they twirled endlessly without getting dizzy. He hadn't seen anyone dance like that since...

Since Dahlia.

Adam's heart skipped a beat. The girl was tall and thin. She was wearing all white. She had long blonde curly hair – longer than he remembered, but it had been a over year since he'd seen her.

Dahlia. At Degrassi.

The music suddenly stopped, and Adam snapped out of his memories. He focused on the stage again and the girl in black was grabbing the wrist of the girl in white.

"I told you to work on your fouetté turns! You haven't been working on them! What have you been doing instead of working on your fouetté turns? What could _possibly_ be more important?" the girl in black demanded.

"I... I have been working on them, Bridget, I promise. They're just really difficult..." the girl in white looked at her feet.

The girl in black – Bridget – kept yelling at the girl in white as Dave nudged Adam with his elbow.

"This girl is intense. I'd hate to be the blonde girl right now. I wonder why she just puts up with that." Dave said.

Adam was wondering the same thing. Dahlia would never have put up with that. Dahlia was a leader, a shining light. She was happy, she glowed, she was proud of herself, she believed in herself. Maybe he was wrong, maybe this wasn't Dahlia after all...

"God, Dahlia, I honestly can't deal with this. I'll meet you after school and we'll work on this more. I've got to go get ready for class. You clean up." Bridget snarled.

Adam's heart skipped a beat once again. This time his freeze-up was apparently noticeable.

"Dude, are you okay?" Dave asked. "You look a little tense."

"Yeah, I just... I'm fine." Adam said, trying to shake it off.

"Okay... I've got to go get ready for Chemistry now. You coming?"

"No, um... my locker's the other way, actually." Adam lied.

"Okay. Catch you later!" Dave smiled and walked away.

Adam stared at the girl in white. At Dahlia. She was cleaning up Bridget's mess; something he could tell she was used to. God, she was gorgeous. She used to be awkwardly tall and freakishly skinny. Her hair used to frizz out so much that she looked like an electrocuted lion. But now... she was long and lean and graceful. Her hair was more like a mermaid's than a lion's. She was breathtaking. Literally. Adam kept finding himself forgetting to breathe.

He wasn't sure when he had started walking towards her, but sometime during his mesmerized trance he had made his way up to the stage. Dahlia hadn't noticed him yet, but he stopped walking anyway.

He wanted to say something. But he knew he couldn't. She wouldn't recognize him. That would break his heart. Even if she did recognize his face... how could he explain the way he was dressed? The way he was? What was he supposed to say, "Hey Dahlia. Long time no see. I'm a guy now."

He sighed, and turned to leave.

"Hey there!" Dahlia called. "You didn't happen to see us dancing just then, did you?"

Terrified of the consequences of turning around, Adam stayed facing the door to answer her. "Umm... yeah, actually. I may have caught the end."

"Oh... how did...umm... what did you think?"

Adam wanted desperately to turn around, to hold her in his arms and tell her she was the most amazing dancer he'd ever seen.

"It was really good," is what he actually said.

"Oh... okay. Thank you." She answered, and he heard her moving around, cleaning again.

He couldn't stand it anymore. He turned around and walked up onstage. Degrassi was a small school. They would eventually have to meet. Better she find out from him now than from Chantay's gossip column later. He walked right up to her and looked her in the eyes.

He thought it might take a minute to register. He thought she might have some trouble placing how she knew him. But as soon as her eyes met his, Dahlia gasped and stumbled backwards.

"Gr-Gracie?" Dahlia stared into Adam's eyes. He stared back, and saw all the pain he knew he'd caused, and knew he'd see plainly on her face if he ever saw her again. It was the exact look he'd been avoiding when he left a year ago.

"Actually, Dahlia... I... I go by Adam now."

"You... you're..." Dahlia shook her head, trying to make sense of this. "You're a boy."

Adam's heart was pounding steadily, even as it was breaking.

"Yes. I am," he said.

She stared into his eyes, searching for the answers to the million questions she had. She found nothing there, so she looked at the floor.

"I can't... this is a lot for me to process right now, Grac – Adam." Dahlia said, still staring intently at her shoes. "I'll see you later."

She picked up the iPod dock and clothes Bridget had left behind and walked quickly into the wings of the Auditorium.

Adam was left standing alone on the stage. He took a deep breath as the feeling that nothing could hurt him at Degrassi slowly drifted away.


	3. She Told Me Everything

Chapter Three: She Told Me Everything

Author's Note: Yay! I'm so happy you want to read Chapter Three! So, how awkward did I leave things last time? So awkward. I know. But it's kind of hard to not be awkward when you just found out your first love has switched genders. It's just an awkward situation. That doesn't really go away in this chapter, but we learn more about what happened between Gracie and Dahlia, and about Dahlia in general. Leave a review, let me know what you think, and what you'd like to see more of! Enjoy!

"Hey... Hey!"

Dahlia was snapped out of her daydream with a whisper and a nudge from her lab partner. She shook her head, trying to get rid of the memory of what had just happened, and looked over at the girl sitting next to her.

"Where did you just go? We need to be figuring out the chemical properties of...whatever this is." Clare said, carefully placing her goggles over her eyes.

Dahlia smirked and stared at Clare.

"What?" Clare asked.

"Nothing. You just look oh-so charming in those goggles."

"Oh, okay then, Blondie, you put them on, we'll see who's charming!" Clare laughed

Dahlia laughed and put her goggles on, jokingly fluffing her blonde curls. "Do I look all right?"

"Gorgeous, darling!"

The girls laughed hysterically at each other's goggles until the advanced chemistry teacher came over to tell them to be quiet.

"So what made you move to Toronto?" Clare whispered as she adjusted the dials on the Bunsen burner.

"That's a very long story," Dahlia smiled.

"People always say that, but it never takes as long as you think." Clare said.

"...I guess the short version of it is that I came to dance. Where I'm from, there isn't a lot of opportunity for a dancer. And since dancing is the only thing I've ever wanted to do, I thought I should go somewhere that could be made possible."

"Wow, your parents must be very supportive of your dream."

"Well... I live with my grandmother. But yeah. She is. She's really awesome." Dahlia smiled.

The bell rang, and the girls continued talking as they packed up their things and headed out into the hall.

As they were doing so, Adam and Eli were packing up their things from English class and heading out into the same hallway.

"Wow. Oedipus had a really screwed up relationship..." said Eli with a shudder.

"Is there any other kind?" Adam said, glancing over his shoulder.

"I guess not." Eli laughed. He stopped in his tracks to take a look at Adam. "What is up with you today? You look like you've got the FBI out for your head. Who are you hiding from?"

Adam faked a smile. "The FBI. Good one, Eli. I've got to get to History, so I..."

His sentence trailed off and he froze. Was that Dahlia walking down the hall and laughing with Clare?

"Eli! Adam! Hey!" Clare called, waving and smiling, taking Dahlia's hand and pulling her towards them.

Shit. Shit, shit, shit. No.

Adam tried to think of a way to get out of this. Where was the nearest exit? He could say... he could say he was sick! Or something. Oh god.

"Eli, this is my new friend and lab partner, Dahlia Davis. Dahlia, this is my boyfriend Eli."

"Nice to meet you Dahlia." Eli said, nodding at her.

"Adam, this is Dahlia."

Why couldn't he move? Move, feet. Move! At least say something...

"Hi." he said, trying desperately not to make eye contact.

"Hi, Adam. Nice to meet you." Dahlia said, glaring at him with more hatred than he ever thought she was capable of.

Adam looked at Eli and Clare who looked simultaneously confused and afraid.

"Whoa." Eli said. "Have... you two met?"

"No." Dahlia said. "I don't know an Adam." Her smile came back as she turned to Clare. "We should get going to Drama class."

Dahlia walked away, and Clare gave Adam her 'we'll talk about this later' look before following.

"Dude. What the hell." Eli said

"It's a very long, complicated story, Eli."

"I've got time."

Adam sighed. Eli was his best friend. He'd confided in Adam about his dead ex-girlfriend. This couldn't be worse than that, could it?

He took a deep breath, and as they walked to History class, he told Eli everything.

After class, the lunch bell rang, and Clare was waiting outside the classroom door. She stood with her arms crossed, giving Adam the exact same look of hatred Dahlia had given him an hour ago.

"Whoa, there, Clare. Calm down. Adam told me everything. It's not as bad as you think." Eli said, rubbing Clare's arms.

She shook him off and turned to stand face-to-face with Adam. "Actually, Dahlia told _me_ everything. So maybe it's worse than you think, Eli."

"Well... there are two sides to every story Clare. And Adam's our friend, we don't even know Dahlia."

Eli's loyalty never ceased to amaze Adam.

"She was in love with him. Then he left with no warning and didn't even tell her where he was going. She spent the last year thinking of every possible worst case scenario." Clare said "Adam... please tell me that's not true. Tell me you didn't do that."

Clare looked so heartbroken, like he'd somehow betrayed her trust. He couldn't lie and say he hadn't left without telling Dahlia where he was going or why. He had. But it was so much more complicated than that. Things were never as simple as they seem.

"I did, but Clare, you have to understand why...I- "

"I don't want to hear it Adam. That's all I wanted to know." Clare shook her head and said to Eli, "If you ever did that to me..."

Clare walked away, and Adam and Eli were left standing awkwardly in the hall.

Clare couldn't believe that someone she'd trusted could turn out to have done something so horrible in his past. The thought of someone you're in love with just up and leaving one day with no warning... She couldn't help but think of what would happen if Eli did that to her. The thought made her eyes sting with tears, and she had to turn into the washroom to calm down.

"Hey... are you okay?"

Clare looked up to see Dahlia drying her hands with a paper towel.

Clare wiped her eyes and nodded. "Yeah, I was just thinking about what you said."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Clare, I didn't mean to make you cry!" Dahlia reached out and took Clare into a hug. Clare hugged her back, silently apologizing for the actions of her friend.

The door opened and Dahlia gasped and pushed Clare away. Clare turned to see a tall, thin, hauntingly beautiful, black-haired girl dressed in all black. The girl's dark eyes were made even darker by the look of pure loathing she was giving Dahlia.

"What... is this?" Bridget said, pointing at Clare.

"I... That's... we're just friends, Bridget. She was upset, I just - "

"I don't remember telling you that you could make friends, Dahlia."

"Okay. I'm sorry. Clare, you should probably go."

"Yes, Clare." said Bridget "You should probably go."

"No." Clare said "I'm not going anywhere. Who exactly do you think you are to push Dahlia around like that?"

"I'm her girlfriend."

Clare gasped and looked at Dahlia, who was a deep shade of red, and staring at her feet.

"Just go, Clare. Please." Dahlia whispered.

Clare looked from Dahlia to Bridget and back again, and decided that staying wouldn't do much good. Maybe they would work things out on their own. She walked slowly out of the washroom into the hallway. As soon as the door closed behind her, she heard a sharp noise from the washroom.

Bridget had slapped Dahlia.

Clare's eyes widened and her heartbeat accelerated. For the first time in a long time, she felt absolutely helpless.


	4. No Other Girl in the World

Chapter Four: No Other Girl in the World

Author's Note: This episode's a bit short, but I think it says everything I wanted to say just now. There is so much going on in this story, and so much about to happen... you guys are going to freak out! :) Thank you SO much for reading this! Love you all! Enjoy!

Adam and Eli sat in the hallway and ate ham sandwiches in silence. Adam knew Dahlia would never talk to him now. He had never been good at expressing how he felt. If he could just find a way to explain why he hadn't told her he was leaving... maybe he could salvage what pieces remained of their shattered friendship.

"So... you said you guys were best friends, right?" asked Eli, taking a bite out of his ham and cheese on rye.

"Right."

"So you told each other everything. You knew all her deepest, darkest secrets?"

"Every single one." Adam said with a full mouth.

"What made this secret different? Why couldn't you tell her you're transgender? I mean, if you were really that close..."

"It would have ruined everything, Eli." Adam swallowed, the continued. "We weren't just friends, we were... more than that. And if I had come out to her as transgender and she had..."

"If she had what, Adam? What would have been so bad?"

"Remember when Bianca found out?"

Eli nodded. "Oh."

Suddenly, an obnoxiously loud Alexisonfire song blasted from Eli's back pocket.

He flipped open his cell phone and put it to his ear.

"Clare?"

Adam leaned over and put his ear close to the phone so he could hear too.

"Eli... Eli, Bridget, she's... oh my goodness... Dahlia... you need to... I can't even... where are you?"

"Whoa, whoa. Clare. Slow down. Breathe. What's wrong?"

"Bridget...in the bathroom. She hit her."

"Who got hit?"

"Dahlia!"

Adam's stomach flipped over and he put his ear even closer to the phone.

"Who's Bridget?" Eli continued

"Dahlia's girlfriend."

Adam sat up straight and stumbled to his feet, taking his ears as far away from the phone as he could get.

Eli spoke to Clare quickly and hung up the phone.

"Adam..."

"It's okay. No, I'm fine. It's been a year, right? I mean, she was bound to eventually get a girlfriend..."

"...One who hits her, Adam."

Adam suddenly remembered the girl from the auditorium. The other dancer who had treated Dahlia like a slave. Why would Dahlia be with someone like that? What had happened to her?

"What do we do?" Adam asked.

"I'm going to go find Clare. She needs me right now. You know who needs you."

Adam sighed as Eli walked away. He knew what he had to do.

He didn't have to walk very far to find who he was looking for. He turned a few corners, walking aimlessly, and there she was. Just the tall, thin, gorgeous dancer he wanted to talk to.

"Hey!" he called "Your name's Bridget, right?"

Bridget turned and looked him up and down. "Do I know you?"

"My name's Adam. You're a friend of Dahlia's, aren't you?"

"...You could say that. What do you want?"

Adam took a deep breath, searching for the words to explain how he felt. He decided not to think, and just started talking.

"Dahlia Davis is an amazing person. She's brilliant, and hilarious, and confident, and beautiful. She takes off her shoes and runs into the water with no fear. She twirls in the sunlight just to feel the wind on her face. She's strong, and bold, and talented, and you're taking all of that from her. You're sucking out her soul, and I'm letting you know now that I'm not just going to stand by and watch. Dahlia Davis is not someone you push around. She's someone you take care of, and treasure, because there is no other girl in the world like her."

"...That was a very nice speech, Gracie."

"I – wait, what?"

"You're Gracie. I knew I recognized you. Dahlia keeps a picture of you in her wallet at all times. She doesn't think I know, but I needed twenty bucks one time, so I took it, and there you were."

"She... what?"

"Well this has been very interesting, Gracie, but I've got to go. I'll be sure to... what was it? _Treasure_ Dahlia for you." Bridget said as she walked away.

Adam didn't know why he was so surprised. After a day like today, nothing should have been able to shock him anymore.

But then he caught a glimpse of Dahlia out the window of the front doors, and he didn't think he'd ever stop being shocked by her beauty.

"Adam! There you are!" Clare called, as she and Eli walked hand-in-hand toward him.

"How are you doing? Did you talk to Dahlia?" Eli asked

Adam shook his head. "No. But I did have a lovely chat with her girlfriend."

"Oh, Adam, you really shouldn't have done that. You don't want to make enemies on the first day of school..." Clare said

Adam looked out the window again and saw Dahlia glaring in at him with the same look of complete loathing she'd had on before.

"I think it's a bit late for that, Clare." Eli said


	5. The Way It Used to Be  Part One

Chapter Five – Part One: The Way It Used To Be

Author's Note: Aaand we're back. I just want to thank you for your amazing reviews. You are all way too nice to me. (Not so nice to Bridget, but that's expected and hilarious. She's such a bad person.) Anyway, a few people have asked me about people's ages and why it's so confusing. I don't understand Degrassi's concept of time AT ALL, so in this story, everything that's happened with Eli, Clare and Adam on the show happened when they were all in grade nine. I'm just shoving all of that in there. So they're all the same age, and now they're in grade ten. I also realised that all four chapters have taken place on the same day, so we're going to let them go home and think about everything and come back to them on the second day of school. Also, this chapter is a two-parter, and is told through the eyes of all five main characters. This author's note is long. Sorry. I'll let you read now! Enjoy!

* * *

It's amazing how one day can change everything. 24 hours ago, Adam was on his way through the doors of Degrassi. He was happy, he was self-assured, confident that nothing could hurt him at school any more. After what he went through with Bianca and Fitz last year, he thought nothing could compare. The kids at school had had time to get used to the idea of who he is, and had (for the most part) stopped bothering him about it. He'd been through the worst bullying of his life. He didn't think he could possibly feel that bad again.

But now, as Adam stood outside the school, staring up at the doors, he couldn't bring himself to walk through them. His past was in there. His past was forcing itself into his present and he was not comfortable with that at all. For a whole year he'd been dealing with having Dahlia in his life only as a memory. He'd gotten used to it. Every memory with her had been good. Whenever he'd needed to think of something good, he thought of her. Now, in only a few hours, she'd ceased to be a memory, and had shown up in his world, becoming a very real part of it again. Only this time was different. This time, Dahlia hated him.

He couldn't go in. Not today.

He hadn't skipped school in ages, but today he was making an exception. He didn't know what would happen if he saw Dahlia in the hall. Or if he saw Bridget in the hall. Or... Dahlia and Bridget together. That last one would probably kill him.

He headed away from the school, not knowing or caring where he was going, as long as Dahlia was not there.

* * *

About 15 minutes into class, Eli started to get worried. It was only the second day of school, and Adam was already skipping. This sounded more like something Eli would do himself. Adam only skipped school when he was avoiding something big, and it was pretty obvious what he was avoiding now. Adam had told Eli all about how Dahlia and Gracie had been best friends, and how it had turned into more than that once they kissed. Then Gracie discovered she was Adam, and - Eli guessed - Dahlia discovered she was a lesbian. Amazing how one kiss can change two lives forever.

"Miss Oh?" Eli asked "I'm gonna need a hall pass..."

"Oh, really?" Miss Oh said, not looking up from her computer screen. "May I ask why?"

Eli lurched forward and covered his mouth with his hand. Miss Oh shot up out of her seat and scrambled to hand him a hall pass. "Go, go, go!" she said "Not on the new computers!"

Eli ran with his hand over his mouth until he was past the Media Immersion room windows.

"Works every time." He said to himself, chucking the hall pass onto the floor and walking outside.

* * *

Clare sat in class staring at the clock. She was convinced that the hands of it hadn't moved in hours and that time had completely stopped and she was stuck in a vortex of this horrible new history teacher blabbing on and on about World War Two forever and ever and ever. Which was weird for her, since she usually loved school. But today... something felt wrong. She needed to get out of there.

"Mr. Smith?" Clare asked "May I please have a hall pass?"

"No, Miss Edwards, I was just about to begin discussing Juno Beach - "

Clare lurched forward and covered her mouth with her hand.

Mr. Smith's wrinkly eyes popped open wide and he wordlessly handed her a hall pass and shooed her out the door.

Clare stood outside the door for a moment, shocked at what she'd just done.

"Who has Eli turned me into?" she asked herself.

Then, she shrugged and headed outside.

* * *

Bridget was pissed. Where the hell was Dahlia? They were supposed to be skipping class to practise for their audition tonight, not skipping to wander off to God-only-knows-where without even telling anyone. Why did she think she could suddenly do things on her own? The whole reason Bridget had wanted to move to Toronto in the first place was to get Dahlia away from that wretched LGBT club she attended. That place was starting to give her ideas. Ideas about her identity, who she really is, all that crap. Dahlia was _nothing_ without Bridget, and Bridget wanted to keep things that way.

When Bridget had met Dahlia, she was a mess. She couldn't even speak. She was sitting on a park bench, staring at a picture of a girl. That was what clued Bridget in to the fact that Dahlia was a lesbian. She was nice to her at first; drawing her in, getting her close, making her feel safe. None of it was real, of course. Bridget didn't actually give a shit about Dahlia's problems. She'd just been dumped by the high school quarterback Donny Johnson, and needed a way to make him jealous. Dating a gorgeous blonde girl and telling the whole school that Donny had turned Bridget gay? Check. Jealous _and _turned on. Two birds, one stone.

After Donny's jealousy wore off, he moved onto some stupid cheerleader. Not that Bridget cared. She had Dahlia now. A pretty little servant girl to do everything she said. Until now, apparently. Bridget threw her purse over her shoulder and stormed outside. Once she found Dahlia, the girl was going to pay.

* * *

Dahlia took off her white sandals and stepped onto the sand. It was early September, still technically summer, and the sun was high and warm in the morning sky. She felt the sand, hot and smooth under her feet. She closed her eyes and felt the wind play with her blonde curls. As long as she had her eyes closed, she felt fourteen again. Like a kid. Like at any moment, Gracie would come over, knock on the door four times, just like she always did. They'd go for a walk, or watch movies, or bake cookies... it didn't matter what they did, as long as they were together. With her eyes closed she could almost feel the shock she used to get when Gracie's hand would accidentally brush against hers. And the bigger shock she got when it no longer happened by accident.

She opened her eyes and took in the boardwalk and the beach. Who knew you could find a place so serene, so calming, just steps from the city? She held her sandals in her hand and walked into the water, surprised at its iciness, but walking in anyway.

For the millionth time that year, Dahlia wondered what she had done wrong. Hadn't she been supportive enough? Trustworthy enough? Hadn't she loved Gracie enough? She knew the answers, but wished with everything in her heart that there were another answer. She knew that if she had just been enough for Gracie, she wouldn't have left.

Gracie... her heart broke just thinking of that name. Gracie was gone. Dahlia had lost her a year ago when she'd moved. But now, again, without warning, she'd lost her a second time. Gracie was gone, and a boy named Adam had taken her place. Dahlia had been to many LGBT club meetings that year. She had met a few transgender people, but she never thought... it never occurred to her... she couldn't even bring herself to think it.

This was her best friend. Her girlfriend. Her first love. How could someone be so close to a person and have no idea about the secrets they kept? How could someone keep a secret like this one? How could they ever find the courage to tell? Adam's situation was so much more complicated than Dahlia could ever comprehend. She knew that. But it still hurt to be left out. And to be left alone.

She sat in the sand with her feet in the water, lifting the bottom of her white sundress out of the waves' way. She closed her eyes and tried to pretend that everything was back to the way it used to be, when she felt safe.


	6. They Found Each Other  Part Two

Chapter Six: They Found Each Other (Part Two)

Author's Note: Just a word of caution for this chapter: I describe a little teensy bit what Julia (Eli's dead ex) looked like... don't kill me if you read this after we see her and this isn't actually what she looks like... haha. Also, A+ for you if you understand the death-cab reference! Also, I think this one is going to be a three-parter. These kids are difficult to find! Okay. Go read now! Enjoy!

"He's not at home, he's not in Queen's Park, he's not wandering the Eaton Centre, and he's not at the Dot." Clare said as she and Eli walked down Queen Street West.

"I'm running out of ideas." Eli said "He could be anywhere by now."

"Why isn't he answering his phone?" Clare asked

"Well... it could be because he doesn't want to be found. Or he could be..." Eli trailed off

Clare shook her head, not wanting to think about the second option.

"Why don't we split up?" Clare suggested. "You can keep driving around, and I'll go on foot. It'll be easier that way. And if either of us find him, we can call each other."

Eli didn't really want Clare to be alone, but he knew that this was the best shot they had at finding Adam. So he nodded, kissed her, and got into his hearse.

He drove around for about half an hour, scanning the face of everyone he passed, trying to find his best friend. He knew why Adam hadn't come to school. If the biggest, darkest secret in Eli's past was wandering around Degrassi, he wouldn't want to be there either. Of course, for him, that wasn't really possible...

Eli tried to shake the thought of Julia from his head. She'd been sneaking her way into his mind a lot lately. It seemed as though everything reminded him of her. Her favourite foods, her favourite books, her favourite songs... it had all been showing up lately, even more so than before. The other day, he'd even thought he'd heard her laugh...

He shook his head again, trying to get his thoughts back to the present moment. In the split second that he wasn't paying attention, a pedestrian stepped out onto the street without Eli noticing. He looked up again and had to swerve, and the girl was so surprised, she screamed and fell back onto the sidewalk. As he watched her fall, Eli thought he'd hit her, and immediately parked the car and got out. He ran around to make sure the girl was okay. Her back was to him, and all he saw was tanned skin and long, straight, shiny black hair. His heart stopped.

Julia?

The girl turned around and gave Eli the most horrifyingly evil glare he'd seen since he last watched the Exorcist.

Not Julia.

"You?" the girl screeched "Of course it's you. Of all people. Of course the creepy-ass emo kid who drives a god damned _**HEARSE**_ would be the one to run me down on the street. Honestly, don't you have a therapy session to get to or something?"

"...What? Do I know you?" Eli asked

"Bridget Delgado. You're friends with Gracie. I've done my research, Creepo. I know all about you. And about your girlfriend, who seriously needs to keep her slutty little hands off of what's mine."

Eli was aware that his mouth was gaping open, but there wasn't really anything he could do about it. He'd dealt with bullies before, but they were always guy bullies. Guy bullies fight with their fists, which Eli could relate to and deal with. Girl bullies fight with their words, which a lot of the time, make a much bigger impact.

Eli took a step closer so he was face-to-face with Bridget.

"First of all, his name is Adam. Second, my name is Eli. My girlfriend's name is Clare, and if you ever call any of us anything else again, you'll have to deal with me."

"Ooh, empty threats from the emo midget! I'm shaking in my Louboutins! What are you going to do, hit a girl? I'm pretty sure Saint Clare wouldn't approve of that. Speaking of her, why don't you get back into your death cab and find your cutie, emo boy. I'm going to go look for mine."

Eli breathed deeply, thought of Clare, and kept his fists by his sides. It wasn't worth it. Even if she had used "Death Cab" and "emo" in the same sentence. Then, he realised what she'd said.

"Dahlia's missing too?"

"What do you mean, too?"

"I was just out looking for Adam."

"...They're not together." Bridget said, looking over her shoulder. She sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than Eli.

Eli knew that Adam cared about Dahlia a lot. And anyone Adam cared about needed to be kept away from someone like Bridget. He tried to think of everything Adam had told him about Dahlia, and where she might have gone. She always wore white, she laughed too much, she loved A Walk to Remember and wading barefoot in cold water.

That was it.

"Oh, you know what? I think I saw Dahlia when I was looking for Adam in the Kensington Market."

Bridget stared at Eli. He stared right back. After a long minute, satisfied that she wasn't being lied to, Bridget turned abruptly and walked in the direction of the Market.

Eli scrambled back to his car and drove as fast as he could. He knew where Dahlia was. Now, he just prayed that Adam was with her.

Clare got to the end of the boardwalk – or the beginning, depending on how you looked at it – and sighed. Adam wasn't there. There was hardly anyone at the beach that day, besides a man and his baby daughter playing in the sand, a few runners with their dogs, a roller-blader, and a blonde girl in a white dress wading in the water.

Wait...

Clare squinted at the blonde girl and gasped, about to run over to Dahlia. Then she saw Dahlia wipe her eyes and stare out at the lake, and she knew she shouldn't bother her. She probably wanted to be alone. And if there were someone she wanted to see, it would be...

She squinted again as she saw a boy in baggy pants, a plaid shirt and a beanie walk up to Dahlia on her other side. The boy took Dahlia's hand, and even though she was so far away, Clare still felt like she was intruding on a very important moment for Dahlia and Adam. She turned away, and saw a big black hearse pull up. She ran over.

"Did you find them?" Eli asked as he got out of the car.

Clare smiled and pointed to the young couple sitting and talking in the sand.

"They found each other."


	7. I Just Miss My Friend Part Three

Chapter Seven: I Just Miss My Friend

Author's Note: Hello everyone! I don't really have much to say about this chapter, but every other chapter's had an author's note...haha :) Please leave a review if you read this, I need to know what you like, what you hate, what you'd like to see, what you wish was different. I love the feedback I've received so far, you're all so lovely and so helpful! Thank you! Enjoy!

"I missed you, Dahlia." Adam said, breaking the silence of the last few minutes.

"I..." Dahlia sighed and turned to sit so she was facing Adam instead of the lake. "You have no idea how much I wish I could believe that."

Adam turned to face Dahlia. "I missed you every day."

"Then why did you leave in the first place?"

"Look at me!" Adam yelled. "Could I go back to school in Everdale looking like this? There's about 300 people in that town, they all know me as Gracie! I needed to make a new start, as Adam. As me."

"So the whole time you knew me... you weren't yourself. You were just pretending." Dahlia said, looking at the ground, trying to focus her eyes on the grains of sand so she wouldn't cry.

Adam gently lifted Dahlia's face with his hand. "Dahlia. Look at me. You were the only person who ever really knew who I am. I was always, _always_ myself with you. I just... had to be Gracie, too."

"You could have just told me."

"I wanted to... believe me, I tried to. I just... I knew the reactions people have to this kind of thing. People call me a freak, and they call me a tranny, and they don't understand me. And I deal with it, and put up with it, because this is who I am. But... with you...if you had..."

"I never would have."

"...I was afraid to risk it. It would have killed me. Not that leaving without you didn't kill me anyway."

There was a silence for a moment, and they both sat in the sun, listening to the waves.

"Well... you seem happy now. With Clare and Eli. They're lovely."

Adam smiled. "Yeah. They are. I got really lucky." Then he looked back at her and his smile went away. "What about you, though? What happened to you? What are you doing with Bridget?"

"What do you... I don't know what you're talking about." Dahlia said, staring intently at the water.

"Dahlia, she's horrible to you. She treats you like a slave, like you're her property."

"No, you don't understand. You don't know her."

"I don't _want_ to."

"She needs me!"

"I need you!"

"You abandoned me!" Dahlia yelled, finally turning to look back into the sky blue eyes of her former best friend. "You left me. Alone. Completely alone, with no one, and nothing! What was I supposed to do, I couldn't stay alone forever, I needed someone to take your place!"

"Take my place?" Adam asked in amazement "You think Bridget is a replacement for me? I loved you, Dahlia. No matter what she's brainwashed you into believing, she does not love you."

Dahlia shook her head sadly. "It doesn't matter anyway. It's not like we can ever go back to the way it was. With you and me."

Adam felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach, but masked it well, and Dahlia went on.

"Remember in grade six, when those annoying girls were teasing you because you wore pants and sneakers to the dance, and I fought them off for you? What would happen if I did that now? I can't. Now they'd just see it as a girl fighting your battles for you. Everything is different now. Everything's changed." Dahlia stood up and wiped the sand off of her dress.

Adam stood up and grabbed her hand as she went to walk away. "Not everything..."

Dahlia waited for him to say the words she needed to hear. She didn't think it was too much to ask. There were only three.

They didn't come. So she walked away.

Adam turned in the other direction and walked along the shore.

Before long, he heard a voice behind him. "Adam...Adam!"

Clare ran up beside him, a bit out of breath.

"Clare? What are you doing at the beach?"

"Looking... for you...you idiot." She said, trying to catch her breath. "We were... worried sick."

"Oh. Sorry. Did you see..."

"Dahlia? Yeah. You okay?"

"I will be." Adam answered

Clare pulled Adam into a hug and held him there for a while.

At the same time, Eli was running up behind Dahlia.

"Hey... Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Eli... hi! Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Shouldn't you?"

"Fair enough." Dahlia smiled "What do you need?"

"I just wanted to see if you were okay. Clare and I came here to look for Adam, and we saw you two talking."

"Yeah...I'm okay. I got what I expected, I suppose. Which isn't much."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... I guess he cares... he did come find me. But everything's different now, there's no way it will ever be like it was with Gracie."

"That's true. Gracie's gone." Eli said.

Dahlia looked a bit surprised. She wasn't used to such brutal honesty from people she'd just met, even though she had assumed that Adam had told Eli everything.

"But if you try to get to know him," Eli continued "Adam's pretty amazing too. And I'm sure he and Gracie can't be that different."

"Gracie was amazing. You didn't know her. Adam's... I don't know." Dahlia searched for the words to say how she felt. "Just...how big of a coward does a person have to be to just... leave town without telling their best friend? Their girlfriend?"

"A coward?" Eli tried not to yell. "Do you have any idea how brave Adam has to be just to get out of bed every day? Do you even know what he's gone through? He's already tried to pretend to be Gracie because it's easier on other people. It killed him, Dahlia. I'm not saying what he did to you is okay, I just want you to look at the situation through his eyes. He is Adam. Always has been."

Dahlia sighed, flopped down onto the sand and looked out at the lake. Eli sat beside her.

Dahlia put her head on Eli's shoulder. Even though she'd just met him, and he'd just told her off, she felt safe with him.

Even though he'd just met her, and she'd just called his best friend a coward, Eli felt protective of Dahlia. He put his arm around her.

"I just miss my friend." she whispered.

"I know." Eli answered "I'd miss him too."


	8. You Don't Have To Do It Alone

Chapter Eight: You Don't Have To Do It Alone

Author's Note: Oh my. This took a very long time to get to you. Thanksgiving weekend up here in Canada. Craziness and whatnot. I should be studying for my midterm coming up, but this seems more important. Thank you for sticking with this story! I hope you love it as much as I do. PS: this chapter's entirely Dahlia's POV, and the next will be entirely Adam's. Then we'll get back to mixing it up. :) Okay enjoy!

* * *

As Dahlia pedaled her vintage Schwinn bicycle through Queens Park, she barely noticed the beauty of the place. The grass was emerald green, the cerulean sky was just visible through the leaves of the colossal trees. Black squirrels were bouncing all over the place, and children were climbing on the statue of King Edward and his horse, right in the center of it all. Dahlia saw none of this. She was moving entirely on autopilot, thinking only of Adam. She wondered if he was thinking of her.

Once she finally arrived at her destination___, _she snapped back into the present world, and remembered what she was doing there. Her audition. She and Bridget were there to audition for the Toronto Ballet Company's production of Swan Lake. Dahlia had seen the ballet nine times in person, and a million more on her DVD at home. Odette had been her dream role for as long as she could remember. The story of unconditional love always got to her. Plus, if she got the lead role, she'd be secured a spot in the Company after she finished school.

She was more nervous walking into that building than she'd ever been before in her life. Not only because of how badly she wanted the role, but because she knew Bridget would be inside. Dahlia had promised to skip class to practise with Bridget that afternoon. Instead she skipped class and went to the beach... how could she explain what she was really doing there? She couldn't lie to Bridget. She always hit her harder when she lied.

Dahlia signed in and got her audition number. She took a deep breath and walked toward the change room. Just as she was about to go in, she was suddenly on the floor.

"What the_ fuck_, Dahlia."

Dahlia's eyes took a minute to focus, and she realised she'd hit her head pretty hard against the wall. She stared up into Bridget's dark, narrowed eyes and tried to remember what she'd ever seen in them. She thought back to the day they'd first met. Dahlia was so broken, and Bridget had picked up the pieces and somehow put her back together. For the first time in almost a year, Dahlia began to think that maybe she wasn't together right at all. The pieces were the same, but the person Bridget had constructed was not Dahlia.

Dahlia struggled to stand.

"What now?" she asked, rubbing the back of her head with one hand.

"You inconsiderate piece of shit. Where were you today?"

Dahlia remembered the first time Bridget had ever hit her. It was after one of the many dance duets they had performed that year. Bridget had fallen, and Dahlia did what she was taught to do in every dance class she'd ever taken – she kept dancing. Apparently Bridget had decided that this meant Dahlia wanted to look like a better dancer than her. That she was trying to make Bridget look bad. Dahlia got a black eye for that one, and every day since then, she'd tried to stay out of Bridget's way so it wouldn't happen again. She stayed in Bridget's shadow, hiding her light so Bridget could shine.

Not anymore.

Not today.

"You don't care where I was, Bridget, you're just mad I wasn't with you."

"...Excuse me?"

"You didn't have your little slave girl around to reassure you that you're a good dancer, and you couldn't bear to dance alone, so you didn't even practise at all, did you? You just waited for me."

In a split second, Dahlia was on the floor for a second time in less than a minute. Her cheek was red and stung in an entirely too familiar way.

"What is going on here?"

Dahlia and Bridget looked up to see a short blonde girl holding a pile of tutus staring at them in shock.

"Umm... she just... fell." Bridget stammered, holding out her hand to Dahlia.

"No... no, she didn't." said the short girl, as Dahlia got to her feet without Bridget's help. "You hit her. I saw you."

Bridget stammered something inaudible as the short girl picked up a walkie-talkie and told someone what she'd just seen.

"You're going to have to go into the lobby and wait for security there." The short girl said to Bridget, looking unbelievably fierce for someone so small.

Dahlia guessed Bridget saw the fierceness too, because she only glared at the short girl as she walked away.

"Are you okay, hun?" the short girl asked. "God, that looks painful. I can get you some ice..."

"No, it's okay. It never hurts for long." Dahlia said, immediately regretting sharing so much with someone she didn't know.

"Never... she does this often?"

Dahlia hesitated, then nodded.

The short girl dropped the pile of tutus and pulled Dahlia into the best hug she'd ever recieved.

"Hun," the short girl said "My name's Paige. I'm going to give you my phone number, and you're going to call me. Tonight, tomorrow, and any time after that. I understand what you're going through, and you don't have to do it alone."

Paige handed Dahlia a business card that read: Paige Michalchuk – Wardrobe Designer – Toronto Ballet Company. Dahlia doubted this girl had any idea what she was going through, but she seemed nice, so she stuck the card in her wallet anyway.

Paige smiled and walked away with her pile of tutus, and Dahlia smiled back. She loved when random good things happened in the middle of hideous storms. It didn't happen often, but it gave her strength whenever it did. And since this audition might be the most important one of her life... Dahlia needed as much strength as she could get.


	9. Oh My God

Chapter Nine: Oh My God

Author's Note: This is so long! Makes up for it being late! I'm so glad you guys recognized Paige! She's one of my favourite characters ever, so I had to fit her in. She'll show up again every once in a while. Let me know if there are other characters you want to see! Also, I said this one would be all Adam's POV, but I lied. I have too many ideas for Dahlia and Bridget right now. But Adam's in here, so don't worry. Thanks for all your lovely reviews, I adore you all! Xoxo Enjoy!

Bridget sat on the steps of the Toronto Ballet Company, head in her hands, heart in her stomach. How had everything gone so wrong?

The moment she'd discovered that Dahlia was a dancer, her focus shifted from making Danny Johnson jealous to getting into the TBC. It was Dahlia's dream at first. Bridget had never really considered actually becoming a professional dancer, it was more of a hobby to her than a passion. But once Bridget put her mind to something, she always got it done. She'd put her mind to getting Dahlia to fall for her. She'd put her mind to making sure Dahlia stayed subservient and under control. She'd put her mind to convincing Dahlia that moving to Toronto was the only way they could achieve their dream. She'd accomplished all of this.

She was so used to everything going so smoothly. But now she could feel everything she'd worked for slipping through her fingers like water. There was nothing she could do to hold it there.

Dahlia was inside. Auditioning for Odette. Bridget could lie to herself and say that Dahlia wouldn't get the part. That she wasn't the most amazing dancer Bridget had ever seen. But she didn't. She knew the level of Dahlia's talent, and the level of her passion and drive. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that she would nail this audition.

She was fully aware that this thought was supposed to make her happy. Dahlia _was_ her girlfriend, after all. She was supposed to be supportive, and caring, and proud. But all Bridget could focus on, as she stood up to pace in front of the building, was the power she had over Dahlia and how it was fading so quickly to nothing.

The doors behind her swung open and she turned with wide eyes to see Dahlia skip out. The smile on her face and the bounce in her step gave away the results of her audition. Dahlia pulled on her hair elastic, letting her tightly wound bun loose, and her blonde ringlets cascaded across her shoulders and glimmered in the sun. Bridget's heart leapt, like it did every time she saw Dahlia. It was difficult to look at her and not be blown away. But Bridget always managed.

"You got it." She said. It wasn't a question.

"Umm... yeah..." Dahlia said, her smile fading. "I did. I got Odette."

Bridget walked up the stairs and stood in front of Dahlia.

She had loved Dahlia once. Or twice. On random days, in random moments, Dahlia would do something...make a face, say a phrase, move a certain way, and Bridget would be sure she was in love. But the rest of the time, she only kept Dahlia around because she found certain uses for her. First Danny. That had ended. Now this. Also over. Bridget no longer had any reason to control Dahlia. And according to the way Dahlia had spoken to her earlier, she no longer had any control to speak of.

Dahlia gently moved a few strands of hair out of her face and behind her ear, and finally looked from the ground to Bridget's eyes.

That one movement. That one moment. That was all it took.

Bridget's heart started beating audibly, and she was suddenly very aware of her tongue. She fumbled with the bag she was holding and dropped it. She was nervous.

She hated feeling nervous.

She equated it with feeling powerless. Out of control.

Dahlia had power over Bridget.

That thought made her sick to her stomach. Sick with anger. Her breathing quickened and her heart beat faster. She just wanted the feeling of helplessness to stop.

She looked into Dahlia's crystalline, baby blue eyes, and, without even thinking, punched her right in the mouth.

Dahlia fell to the concrete and Bridget kicked her in the stomach.

"It's over, then." She said, and walked down the stairs to go home.

After a moment, the air returned to Dahlia's lungs, and she gasped and coughed. She tried to stand, but found that her aching ribcage made that impossible. She sat up and leaned back against the building. She felt something on her thigh, and looked down to see a red spot on her white sundress. It was only then that she noticed her split lip. Wonderful.

She reached forward to grab her bag, wincing through the pain, and rummaged through it to get her cell phone.

She opened her Contacts list. First one there – Adam Torres. She couldn't call Adam. The last thing she'd said to him was that everything was different now and they couldn't be friends. She wasn't about to be the girl who only calls when she needs something. No. She kept scrolling, scowled when she passed Bridget's name, and landed on Clare Edwards.

She'd only known Clare for one day. But she had been so lovely. Dahlia was sure she'd found a real friend in Clare. But... Clare was Adam's friend. Dahlia wasn't sure how awkward that made things, but she didn't really have another option. She pressed the enter button, and held the phone up to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi... it's Dahlia."

"I know, love, I have caller ID." Clare laughed "What's up?"

"I, um..." Dahlia hesitated. She really hated to be the needy girl, but she knew she couldn't get home on her own. "You don't happen to have a car, do you?"

"No... but I know a boy with a hearse." Clare said. Dahlia could hear the smile in Clare's voice, and it comforted her.

"Well, I'm not quite dead yet, but I still might need a ride in that hearse." Dahlia said.

Clare said it was no problem, that she'd call Eli up and they'd pick her up soon.

Dahlia mentioned nothing about Bridget, nothing about her injuries at all. As she hung up the phone, she was surprised that Clare and Eli would just drop everything and come, no questions asked. It made her happy to know that Adam was in good hands. But then, she instantly regretted even caring. She couldn't care. They couldn't be together. There were so many things wrong with that.

Dahlia struggled, but managed to stand up, so as not to look completely pathetic when Clare and Eli arrived. She had to lean against the wall a little bit, but she didn't think she looked too bad. She wiped a bit of blood off of her lip and waited for the hearse to pick her up.

"Eli! You can't kill an old lady, you homicidal maniac!" Adam yelled

"I think that horse is a_ little_ too high for you, Mr. Torres. Besides, who was the one killing hookers left and right five minutes ago?" Eli laughed

Just then, Eli's cell phone rang, and he had to pause the game of Grand Theft Auto he and Adam had been playing so he could answer it.

"Hey babe, how's it going?" he said

"Hello Eli. I thought I told you not to call me babe." Clare sighed

"Sorry Clare-Bear." He smirked. He could just see her rolling her eyes at that one.

"Anyway, Dahlia just called me. She said she needs a ride home from the TBC."

"Really? I thought she rode her bike everywhere."

Adam's ears perked up at that. He knew they must be talking about Dahlia.

"Yeah, me too. Who knows, maybe Bridget gave her a ride there or something." Clare said.

"Bridget was there?" Eli asked, and Adam scooted on the couch and pressed his ear to the back of the phone. Eli tried to elbow him out of the way, but Adam stayed put.

"Yeah, she and Dahlia are both dancers. They had an audition today."

"Okay, I guess I could go pick her up. You wanna come?"

"Yeah sure, pick me up on the way."

Eli and Clare said goodbye and hung up, and Adam glared at Eli the whole time.

"You're going to pick her up?"

"No, Adam, I'm going to leave her on the other side of town with no way home."

"But...she's..."

"Dude. You need to get over your awkward-ex-girlfriend thing. You love her. You know it, I know it, Clare knows it, hell, Bridget knows it. Just tell her and this will all go away." Eli stood up, grabbed Morty's keys and started walking to the door. "You coming?" he yelled over his shoulder.

Adam shook his head, but got up and followed Eli anyway.

Once they got in the car, Eli put on some music and they drove to Clare's house without speaking. Eli got out and held the door open for Clare, Adam got into the back seat, and then they drove for a few minutes with just the music playing again.

Suddenly, Adam said "But she's a lesbian."

Eli and Clare turned around with wide eyes and Clare had to smack Eli to remind him to keep his eyes on the road. She continued to glare at Adam.

"Who?" she said

"Dahlia." he said "I can't just tell her I love her and then we dance off into the sunset, she likes **girls,** only girls, just like I do. We came out to each other, we discovered that together. But then I discovered that I'm not a girl. So...she can't love me."

Clare turned around to face the front of the car, not knowing at all what to say to that.

Everything about this situation was a million times more confusing and complicated than anyone had originally thought. And getting more so by the minute.

They pulled up to the Toronto Ballet Company building in silence. At first, nobody could see Dahlia, but when they drove closer, they saw her.

Lying on the steps, unconscious, and bleeding from her lip.

The three of them froze, and whispered simultaneously

"Oh my God."


	10. I'd Trust You With My Life

Chapter Ten: I'd Trust You With My Life

Author's Note: Holy crap, right? I know. Okay, you need to know what happens next, so I'm going to shut up now. Love you all! Sorry this took so long! Thanks for the reviews! Enjoy!

* * *

Adam sat in a giant chair across the room from where Dahlia lay. Her fair skin looked even paler than usual. Her blonde ringlets had fallen over her face, and one single curl was dyed red with the blood from her lip.

Even though his heart literally hurt to see her like this, he couldn't look away. He couldn't believe that anyone could do something so horrible to someone so perfect. He wanted to speak to her, but, as usual, he couldn't find the words. He didn't even think the English language had a word for how horrible this was.

If he had just been there... if he hadn't left her a year ago, if he'd come with her today... he could have saved her.

When they'd found her at the TBC, her body sprawled across the steps, they'd immediately assumed the worst. Once they were able to move from their seats, Adam, Clare and Eli scrambled out of the car. Adam guessed he'd run to her, but he just remembered floating. He could not recall ever feeling that scared before. He almost fell on top of her, the sound of his heartbeat blocking his ears. He pushed her hair out of her face... and her eyelids fluttered open.

Relief was not nearly a strong enough word for how that felt.

"Okay, love, I'm going to help you sit up." Clare said, walking back into her living room balancing a full tray in one hand effortlessly. The tray held a glass of warm salt water, a wet washcloth, an ice pack, a bottle of water with a straw, and two Tylenol 3s.

Dahlia winced as she sat up, holding her ribcage and avoiding Adam's gaze.

Clare handed her the glass and told her to swish it around her mouth to clean the cuts on the inside of her lip. Dahlia did so, and spit it back into the cup with a shudder.

"That's disgusting." Dahlia said.

"Yes, but also very effective." Clare said, dabbing the cloth gently along Dahlia's lower lip. Once it was clean, Dahlia took the Tylenols and Clare held the icepack to Dahlia's lip and told her to keep it there for a while.

"It'll keep the swelling down." She said "Do you need anything else?"

Dahlia smiled a little and shook her head.

Eli chose this moment to storm into the room, fists clenched, shaking with anger. He looked from Dahlia to Clare, back to Dahlia, back to Clare; searching their faces for some kind of reflection of the anger he was obviously feeling.

"I'm sorry, babe, I know you told me to sit in the kitchen and be quiet, but are we honestly going to pretend like this isn't a big deal? Because it is. This is a huge deal! I need to go find Bridget, I... I swear to God... We need to like, call the cops or something. Bridget is a -"

"It doesn't matter what Bridget is. Dahlia doesn't want us to say anything, so we won't say anything." Clare said slowly, trying to calm Eli down.

"I... I agree with Eli..." Adam said.

The other three turned abruptly, as if they'd forgotten he was in the room. They probably had, he'd been silent since they'd found Dahlia on the steps. After they realised she was alive, he started breathing again, but he still couldn't move without difficulty.

"Things like this don't just go away if you ignore them. We should tell someone." Adam said to the room in general. Then, focusing his gaze on Dahlia, he said "Does your nana even know?"

Dahlia looked at the floor. "Of course not," she muttered from behind the ice pack.

There was a silence for a moment.

"But... if this happens all the time... and you live with your grandmother... doesn't she see your bruises and cuts?" Clare asked

Dahlia smiled her half-smile again, and shook her head. "Nana's blind."

Adam smiled to himself. Dahlia's nana was an amazing person. She was 5 feet tall and blind as a bat, but had the biggest personality of anyone he'd ever known. Adam had been with Dahlia when she came out to her Nana. He still remembered her reaction.  
_"Oh, D, honey, I don't care who you love, just as long as you have some love left for Nana."_

"You really should tell her, Dahlia." Adam said. "She cares about you, she'll want to know."

"What good would it do? She can't do anything to help, she'll just worry, and feel bad. The last thing I need right now is for Nana to have a heart attack. She's all I have."

* * *

It would be an understatement to say that Adam was surprised to see Dahlia at school the next day. She was limping a bit, and people were staring at her still swollen lip, but she smiled at them like nothing was wrong. Like her world wasn't falling apart at the seams. Like she wasn't completely alone.

Adam realised that Dahlia was doing what he'd had to do for most of his life. He'd spent fourteen years pretending to be something he wasn't for the benefit of others. He'd pretended to be a girl; Dahlia was pretending to be okay.

He knew he couldn't just stand there and watch her crumble silently. He walked over to her.

"Dahlia... we need to talk."

Dahlia looked over her shoulder before smiling at Adam.

"Sure. When? Lunch?"

Even though her coral lips and perfect teeth were formed into a smile, her icy blue eyes looked incredibly sad. Adam wasn't sure anyone would be able to tell that but him. You'd have to know someone pretty well to see past their mask.

"Now, Dahlia." Adam sighed, taking Dahlia's hand and turning towards the Zen Garden.

Dahlia hesitated at first, and Adam turned around to see that her face finally matched her emotions. She sighed and followed him into the garden.

Adam sat on the bench, and Dahlia stood facing the wall. They were silent for a moment; each knowing exactly what they wanted to say, but neither having the slightest clue how to begin.

"Who do you think JT Yorke was?" Dahlia asked, staring intently at the JT Yorke Memorial plaque on the wall.

"He was a student here a few years ago. He was stabbed."

Dahlia turned around, her eyes drained of all traces of happiness.

"He was lucky..." She whispered

Adam stood up. He wasn't sure how he'd managed it, since no other cell in his body seemed to be working.

"...What?" he managed to say.

Dahlia shook her head and looked at the ground.

"Sometimes..." she whispered "Sometimes I wished... that she would just kill me and get it over with."

In an instant, Adam was back at the TBC, falling over Dahlia's limp, unconscious body, horrified and completely helpless.

He stared at her in shock for entirely too long.

"What did you want to talk about, Adam, I really need to get to class..."

Adam hesitated for a second before reaching into his backpack. He shuffled some things around a bit, looking for something. He pulled out a journal, bound with worn brown leather, that said "Adam Torres" on the cover.

"I keep this with me all the time. I started it the day I left Everdale. The... the day I left... you. It contains every thought I've ever had... about anything... I think you should read it."

He held the book out to Dahlia. She stared at it for a moment, then reached out and took it in both hands. She flipped the pages a bit, seeing tiny bits of Adam's scratchy penmanship at a time.

"You'd really trust me with this?" Dahlia asked

"I'd trust you with my life." Adam said, a little too quickly.

Dahlia nodded, and the bell rang for homeroom. She walked out the door without another word, and Adam watched as she took his entire soul with her.

She could easily use any of the information in that journal against him. It held his every secret, his every thought, every dream, every wish. Every part of Adam was inscribed in that journal, and she was now completely capable of destroying him bit by bit.

But he didn't care at all.

As long as she knew.


End file.
